Traveling to Cuba as an American

 

With two small kids at home, sometimes getting away for a much needed vacation with just my hubs can be a logistical nightmare so we tend to  try to find unique and fun places that we can go to for 2-3 nights.  Well Cuba just so happened to have fit that bill when we realized Southwest, hello frequent flier miles, flew there and it was a short flight.  My sister went down there and came back ranting and raving about how amazing it was so we booked that day.

We booked Southwest out of Nashville and then had a layover in Ft Lauderdale before landing in Havana. We were prompted through Southwest to purchase Visa online for $50, but we could have also just bought our Visa at the airport in Ft Lauderdale at the gate for same price. And obviously you also need your Passport. Now heads up, according to US Embassy in Cuba there are 12 reasons you as an American can travel to Cuba, and tourism isn’t one of them. My husband and I chose journalistic activity since we run this blog.   Also included in your plane ticket is your medical insurance while traveling in Cuba, but I would try your hardest not to utilize this service. Take advantage of the wifi on the plane because its the last chance of wifi until you are back on that plane headed home.

Once you arrive in Cuba your entrance Visa is taken along with a picture. Don’t smile, they don’t like that.  There are nurses stationed at baggage claim to make sure that you have filled out the simple medical form and have health insurance. Depending on where you stay and who your hosts are you should be able to arrange transportation from airport to the hotel. We had arranged transportation through our host but there was mix up so they never arrived. She had previously told us it would be $20-$25 CUC.  We were approached by a yellow cab and he charged us $40. But non the less we made it. Downtown Havana is around 35 minutes away from the airport.

Leaving Havana

Money

The current exchange rate is around 1 USD = .93 CUC (6/12/17). We exchanged  USD to EUR in the states and then once we got to airport, cabby showed up where to exchange at the airport, we exchanged EUR to CUC. We also had USD and they exchanged that as well. You can have your host help you exchange with locals for a better rate as well.  Also, to avoid the exchange rate all together, you could withdraw Euros from your bank before your trip then change to CUC in Cuba. Euro is 1 to 1 with the CUC. (and right now 1 Euro = $1.12 so I would def recommend this 6/12/17)

Language

Getting Around Cuba

We ended up waking up early to walk around one morning and met up with a man and his son who drove an old American car. It was beautiful. They are parked outside the big hotels and offer tours. Instead we had him take us to beach, dinner, a tour, and then the airport. We liked them so we just asked them to take us everywhere we ended up wanting to go. It

We also took a Bici Taxi. Which is a bicyclist drawn carriage. We took one of these to dinner and then grabbed one on the way home and they charged two completely different rates. So ask before getting on how much it will cost.

 

WiFi

Accommodations

Seeing we were only going to be gone a couple nights, no need to bring a lot of toiletries. But if you forget something its not easy to find.  Stock up on hand sanitizer and toilet paper bc soap and paper isn’t readily available when out and about.

This Airbnb was on the third floor which provided amazing scenery and we had a gorgeous patio that wrapped around the corner building having views in every direction. But the hike to get to the top floor was up a skinny stairwell that went in circles. So not good for small children or people that can climb stairs well.  There were 3 key locks to get into our room which was nice in terms of security. Our room also contained a small kitchenette which we never used but nice to have.

SANTA MARÍA DEL MAR BEACH

This was the closest beach to Old Havana at around 25 minutes. We didn’t want to waste a ton of time in the car driving since our trip was short. So we met our cabby friends one morning around 8am (the city is asleep still at this point) and they took us out there for 50cuc and waited on us until we were ready to come back. Now this beach is known for its beach parties. And when we got out there at 9am, it was a disaster. Trash as far as you can see. We found a clean spot, laid down our blanket and made the best of it. Soon there after a tractor came through picking up trash. Then by 10am they had laid down the beach chairs and umbrellas and you would have had no idea they mess that was there hours earlier.  So we grabbed a chair and umbrella for 2cuc each. Yes that isn’t a typo. And had a waiter bring us drinks and food for the rest of the day.  Now I forgot sunscreen assuming it would be easy to find. It wasn’t. Thankfully we had the umbrella. The water was gorgeous. Not a lot of waves and very clear. By noon it was packed and lively.

A 2 hour Tour of the City

So would I go back? Probably not. Traveling is one of those life experiences that teaches you so much about yourself.  And from this trip I have learned Im not big into traveling to 3rd world countries for vacation.  It was hot too. Man was it hot. And there was no way to cool off except at the beach. Probably should have done that more than one day.  I am so very excited I was able to see it but we could have probably done everything we wanted to do in 2 nights. in fact we tried to leave early but due to our failed wifi it didn’t happen. But on our last night we found my favorite restaurant.